Schadenfreude
by zerocero01
Summary: "I don't hate you." He said roughly and through his teeth but still clear enough so she would understand. She smiled softly and Eren melted. "Now, answers, why do you say you're the opposite of a princess..." Eren is poor, Mikasa is Royalty, both are kids trying to figure out their place in this world. Royal AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** : I don't usually write author's notes and I'm not even sure why. I've had 3 years hiatus ('cause of college and look at me writing at this point in my life XD how shameful) from this site but I've been writing without posting. I don't know I guess I like writing so I might as well leave it somewhere instead of lost in a computer. If you like this I may continue or not. I'm really bad at finishing stuff. I do like this one story and I have the second chapter done. Anyway let me know . (Peace)

 **Second A/N** :Oh this is supposed to be Royal stuff medieval type of thing, I'm a sucker for AU's

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Schadenfreude:**

 _Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune._

The first time he meets her he was barely ten. It was a sunny spring day, too hot to wear a jacket but still chilly enough that he wouldn't skinny dip at the lake. Armin was tugging a girl to their spot, their secret spot by that matter. Eren couldn't believe the betrayal, sometimes Armin brought stray cats, books or gadgets to their hill with a giant oak tree. All of the above were fine with him, but never another human being.

She was currently hiding behind his blonde friend, hugging one of his arms. It wasn't like Eren to dislike someone after seeing them once but he didn't exactly like the fact that Armin didn't even tell him about her. "I found her looking at the tulips yesterday and she ran away, but she came back to apologize for taking one." Armin retold, looking like he couldn't help but smile. "She's weird like us." Armin said, finally letting out a chuckle.

Eren looked at her, really stared with a plain bored glare. She was weird alright, straight black hair, pale skin, slanted eyes. He had never seen anyone with those eyes before. That didn't matter as much as her clothes. She was a noble.

Not only did Armin bring another human, he brought the enemy. "She's not like us Armin, and she's not welcome here." He spit the last part with no remorse, after all nobles weren't sweet spoken to him or his kind. Armin looked sad, but didn't flail. He clutched the girl's hand and waved the air as if that could ease up the tension. "Her name is Mikasa…" He continued, completely ignoring Eren's aggressiveness. "And she's playing with us today." Armin finished looking at Eren the way his mom looked at him when he wasn't supposed to answer.

Eren couldn't really complain after that first meeting since she barely made a sound and Armin was there to fill any tension with his stories about books. It started getting annoying when she began showing up every day. "When is she leaving?" Eren asked loud enough for her to hear. She was playing by the lake picking up water washed pebbles while Armin and he sat at the shade of the oak.

"She can hear you Eren, you're being rude." Armin said looking ashamed for his friend's behavior. That irked him more. He wasn't ashamed for himself. He wanted her away, who knew what her father could do to them when he found her playing with street kids. Armin was smart, he must know that, so why was he so careless. Nobles were cruel.

* * *

Grisha Jaeger was a meister, one renowned for the small town Eren lived in. He was also his father even if he barely spoke to him. They lived near the great walls which separated their kingdom from foreign countries. Ever since he met Armin he dreamt of a way of seeing the world beyond the walls. They were at war but that didn't mean they couldn't fight back. All the stupid kingdom wanted to do was hide.

His father had a good job due to the war but he had to travel often to keep his position as the noble's meister. One night when Eren was finishing supper, his father ordered him something for the first time. "Today you will come with me to this visit; you're going to be a meister too after all." Eren looked at his father, his round glasses tinted by the sun and his perfectly combed long hair. That was the first time he realized he looked like a stranger, and he felt like one too.

He did end up following him to a noble's home, the Reiss's family. There was a pregnant lady who needed assistance, but from what his father told him, she wasn't going to survive the delivery. That night Eren still remembers the smell of blood and ashes surrounding him. His father had barely received the baby when the flames started. His legs turned to stone when he saw the different ladies of the house that ran in panic.

The flames had spread like cracks in ice and after that, all he remembers was darkness. Grisha had managed to save the baby but the mother and the servants had all died in a fire. Eren woke up to the crusty taste of dirt and wood and a baby crying beside him, wrapped in tattered and soot stained wool. They had arrived at the gates to the noble's castle where three black figures were waiting for them.

"She's dead, like you ordered. The baby's not." He heard his father's voice in the distance, but he felt like he was underwater and everything was too surreal until he blacked out again. When Eren regained full control of his senses the royal army arrived to take him home. Grisha Jaeger wasn't found after that.

* * *

Mikasa was a noble, he knew the moment he saw her refined porcelain skin, her well-kept hands that probably never held a tool, and her polite bullshit. She's so stupid. Why was she even apologizing for something he was conscious was his doing? "I'm sorry I'm imposing on you, I was just happy to play outside." Mikasa wasn't even looking at him in the eyes when she spoke; she had her head bowed and her hands clutched tightly. It disgusted him to see all that humbleness in a creature that didn't deserve to be with them. "Then leave." Eren bit the words tightly; barely opening his mouth and trying not grind his teeth too hard.

"That's enough Eren if you can't behave then I'll play alone with Mikasa." Armin yelled grabbing the girl's hand and stomping his way across the lake, not caring if he slipped through the rocks. Armin was foolish. But Eren wasn't and he wouldn't let his only friend be deceived into an early grave.

The noble girl kept coming to their hideout day after day, only now she knew better than to acknowledge Eren's presence. Armin made sure to make her feel comfortable despite Eren's best attempts at making her leave. He was getting creative, from hiding frogs in her dress to pushing her in the mud. But she kept showing up. Until one day Armin got ill with the flu, and it was just the two of them. Mikasa had no way to know about Armin, and Eren wasn't going to take her to see him. It was too dangerous.

But he did wait for her at their hideout. Eren usually carried a self-made sling that he used against the biggest jerks of town. Before the weapon helped him hunt ducks or rabbits, and today it would scare the noble right out of Mikasa. She was waiting for them at the lake with her chin tucked on her knees and her eyes lost in her reflection.

Eren was hiding on the big oak, sneaking like a cat on a branch waiting for her to move. He would just shoot a rock right in front of her and she would run and probably never come back. Or so he thought. The moment his aim was secured his foot slipped and the leaves rustled her out of her trance. She turned to look at the tree only to see Eren tangled upside down with a sling on his hand.

"What are you doing? It's dangero-" The sound of a shot stopped her words pushing the air out of her lungs. He fired, cutting her cheek right below her eye. Eren looked at the angry red mark, now dripping through her cheekbone and reaching her lips. He was an idiot and he was still hanging upside down. He was trying to protect someone by hurting another. But he was just ten, a kid, and he was too proud to admit anything to her right now.

The shock of his hand acting on its own broke his balance making him fall head first to the grass. He picked himself up quickly not caring about the leaves tangled in his hair and glared. "This is your last warning, you can't come here anymore!" He yelled waking Mikasa from her stone cold reaction.

He knew lots of girls from town, and he had pushed quite a few so he knew tears were coming. One thing he was proud of was his disinterest in that kind of petty girl reaction so if Mikasa was going to cry he wouldn't budge. But Mikasa wasn't crying. Her face was red, her eyes were puffy, but she wasn't crying. Eren was even angrier, how long was she going to pretend it didn't hurt.

She raised a hand to wipe the blood and brushed imaginary dust from her dress. Eren looked at her walking closer to him like it was happening in slow motion. She got the point where their noses could almost brush, and if Eren hadn't been as terrified by that out of normal proximity he would have thought her beautiful. Until he felt the sting of her hand on his cheek. Her slap resonated so hard some birds flew right off the tree. "You can hurt someone with that." She said, her voice nervous and soft like the first time he met her. "I won't come back again Eren."She said with her back turned to him. He had won, he pushed her away and yet why did he feel like a loser.

His legs gave out from exhaustion, his eyes looking at her fading silhouette. She couldn't leave like that, he didn't feel satisfied. Armin was probably going to kill him now anyway so Eren picked himself up to follow her. If she wasn't going to react the way she was supposed to, he bet her noble family would make her show her true colors.

He watched her disappear through a tower's hidden block entrance. Eren looked up and found himself at the gates of the king's castle. So he was right, Mikasa was not only a noble, she was a princess.


	2. Chapter 2

**Occhiolism**

 _The awareness of the smallness of your perspective_

When Armin recovered from the flu, his eyes were bright and his nose was no longer clogged. He found himself at their usual hideout looking happier than ever. He had brought a new book and even had the energy to play tag with Eren and Mikasa. If only Armin wasn't so keen and observant about everything, Mikasa's sudden disappearance might have been forgotten. Eren knew Armin would be angry for what he did to her and Armin knew just what to say for Eren to spill everything.

"You hurt her with a slingshot!" Armin yelled his eyes bulging like he wanted to punch Eren with his glare. "I know you're angry Armin but that was actually an accident I just wanted to scare her." Armin turned to give him his back. His shoulders were trembling and he looked like he wasn't going to let this go easily. When he turned back he did it fast and shoved an angry finger into Eren's chest. "The fact that you carried a weapon makes you a thug, you were awful and we're going to find her and apologize. If she really is a princess we are worse than dead Eren."

That finally broke his loudness, Eren was mute. Well Armin was never wrong. But to swallow his pride was still a big step. "Armin I don't think we should even look for her now…"

The blonde tensed, narrowing his blue eyes and pressing his lips tightly before sighing. "Eren you are my friend, but if you don't do something about this I don't think we can keep seeing each other." Eren looked wounded. That was harsh; they knew each other for too long, they were like brothers. He huffed in defeat before pressing his index and thumb to the bridge of his nose. If Armin was going to make things hard so be it. "Fine Armin, but if the guards throw us out I'm counting that as the end of this."

Armin gave another glare for good measure but ended up following Eren to the place he said he saw Mikasa disappear last time.

* * *

Eren was back at the gates of the palace, at the East wing where a lonely tower wrapped in thorny vines, rose towards the sky. It sat at a lonely spot from the castle, abandoned and weak. Armin looked skeptic at first but seeing as Eren wasn't really one to lose their time he agreed to sneak in. "No guards Armin, we can move now." Eren said jumping out of the shrub near a path that led to a vine that stretched along the tower. "I saw her move some blocks here and then she was gone" Eren said moving the stones and ripping away the plants that hid the entrance.

There was a dark tunnel that coiled inside the tower with snail like stairs twisting inside. "It looks safe." Eren huffed sarcastically. "Listen, if you weren't such a hotheaded mess we would be playing tag with Mikasa right now." Armin said pushing Eren inside the hole before anyone would spot them, not caring if he stepped into an abism.

It was a faraway tower but there were plenty of guards around for it to be an empty death trap."We should have brought fire." Eren said trying to pat his way through the broken wood plates. The wall was cold and mossy through his fingers to anchor his steps and not fall into an imminent death. Who knew what could lie below. "Isn't this ironic Eren, you're doing so much for the girl you worked so hard to get rid of." Armin said while clumsily stumbling with a rock for the ninth time. "Armin I can still walk out of this and kidnap you when I want to play." Eren said knowing how stupid he sounded. It was too dark to see anything still and talking was actually their only way of continuing. Not only was it unsafe, they could die if they were found or they could die from falling.

"This is a really tall tower Armin." Eren whispered feeling like their echoing steps were getting louder now. "Yeah, and I will always remind you how this was your fault." Eren groaned again, knowing he would be reminded of that eternally. He was going to be smart about it again when his head bumped against something. The sound so hard he lost his footing falling over into the darkness. At last he was about to die in a karmatic turn of events if it weren't for Armin grabbing his shirt. "Wow Eren, looks like you were so distracted you couldn't even see the light coming from the door you just hit."

"Armin if I weren't literally hanging for my life from you I would punch you." Armin laughed and cracked the small door open leaving space so that only the top of his head could be seen. He saw a dusty plank that lead to more stone stairs. Eren sighed exasperatedly when he peaked with Armin "How long are these stairs? Do you think Mikasa climbed this much every day?" Eren asked feeling even worse if she really had it this tough. "Well if what you saw was right then probably, she's actually very athletic." Armin answered still sneaking through the stairs now illuminated by small cracks of light that crept through the stones.

Eren raised his eyebrow, incredulous "What? I never saw her like that, she was always braiding flower crowns like the little girl she is."  
"That's because you never really paid attention, and when you were near her you bullied her. I actually thought you liked her for a moment." Armin casually pointed, raising an eyebrow for dramatic tease.

Eren hated the way his cheeks heated up. Armin was stupid; he didn't care about girls at all. He was just trying to get rid of her and protect what little of his loved ones was left. He didn't have time for non-essential feelings "You know I don't care about that Armin." Eren said, trying to look cool but failing to impress his friend. "Yeah don't worry, now I know you actually hated her" Eren wanted to comment about that but they had arrived to a big door that was probably the one connecting to the top of the tower.

"Should we open it? If there's someone else besides Mikasa we die." Eren said, looking more nervous than what he did a second ago falling to his death. "We got all the way here, we might as well try." Armin said cracking the door and wincing at the loud squeaky noise it made. At first they were blinded by the sunlight that hit directly through a tall window, engulfing the entire room. It looked like a white halo compared to the darkness of the tunnel.

When their eyes got accustomed to it the smell hit them first. Eren had never cared to smell Mikasa but if he did, he imagined this would be it. It was a mix of fresh washed linen and flowers. Armin looked entranced by the whole place; it was colorful and fresh, and a bit tight for more than one person. Whoever lived there had a vast collection of wild flowers and leaves maybe an herbalist, or a witch. "You think this is her room?" Eren said shyly taking a pen from a nearby desk.

"It is." Armin said smiling at a small tulip that was planted on a teeny pot near the window. "This is the tulip I saw her stealing the first time."

"Why is she living closed up in this tower? Wasn't she a princess?" Eren thought out loud.

"I'm not the princess of this kingdom" Said a voice from behind them startling Eren from his thoughts. Armin reacted first, and rushed to engulf the new figure standing near a small bed. Eren looked pale, as if he had seen a ghost. His feet were unconsciously shuffling away from the tiny girl that was being crushed by his best friend.

When Armin finally let go of Mikasa his eyes were liquid pools of emotion and for the first time he looked like he couldn't find the words to speak. "I.. I came because Eren has something he wants to say. And I have some questions too." Armin said after a long and awkward pause. Eren hadn't moved from his spot since encountering the room, cornered like a mouse, hidden from the light that overflowed from the only window of the tower, too stunned to react. Also, not that he noticed, but Armin had grabbed Mikasa's hand after their embrace. Armin probably did miss her, and that was just one of the things he was not ready to accept.

When Eren finally noticed they were waiting for him to react he also remembered his eyes hadn't once met with Mikasa. Not only did he feel stupid, he looked like one too. When he forced his eyes back on her he froze, she had gray eyes, he knew, and he also knew they were slanted and different, so why did he feel this was the first time he saw her. "I'm so sorry." His mouth rushed the words faster than his brain could process them. She was too pretty. His brain also thought. He slapped a hand to his mouth before he would throw out unnecessary thoughts.

Armin gave him a weird look but said nothing. With the light hitting her directly Eren also noticed the small pink line below her eye. He scarred her. If he hadn't realized how much of an ass he was he did now. Mikasa was standing there, saying nothing and Eren was paper thin. After a slow minute of nothingness where a pin drop could be heard she moved her eyes to the blonde boy. "Armin you can't come here." Mikasa said looking worried and completely ignoring Eren.

Well why hadn't that occurred to Eren. If he had known how much it stings to be avoided he would have started doing that in a more obvious way to Mikasa. She wasn't just going to ignore him after the trouble he went through for her, he wouldn't let her. "Excuse me, I said I'm sorry." Eren said, the anger flowing through the tone in his voice. He also added a step towards them for emphasis.

That seemed to wake Armin from his lack of reaction. "I'm sorry Mikasa, we came here because Eren needed to apologize, after he hurt you he followed you and so here we are." Armin said softly trying to put his body in between Eren's aggressive stance. He hadn't realized just how much he had backed them to the wall, though he was trying to be intimidating.

"I don't want his apology, I need to be alone. I'm sorry Armin, please leave." That was it. Eren was going to blow something up. He moved Armin away from his protective stance towards Mikasa, perhaps a bit rougher than he intended, but he was beyond furious. She was going to accept his apology and she was going to explain who she was.

He grabbed her arm pulling her towards him so she had no way of ignoring his eyes "I said I'm sorry for shooting at you and being a jerk to you, I was trying to protect Armin. But I'm not sorry for following you and saying you are stupid because you've just proven you are."

Arming gaped. Eren was never good with words and worse when he was rushing through his mind without any filter with his mouth. Mikasa stared at him with wide eyes unable to escape his tight grip. "So now, give me an answer, am I forgiven or not?"

"Let go of me." She said finally looking directly at him almost through his head, her words emotionless, her eyes narrowed dangerously. He felt sliced and dropped her arm as if she had actually cut him.

"Eren you clearly said I couldn't go to your play spot so you can't come here either." That was the most she had ever spoken to him since they had arrived. And it was to kick him out. Oh, how the tables have turned. "I won't leave because I need answers." Eren said, defiant and not caring if she ignored him anymore. Now that he had calmed down from the shock he also noticed how close he was and how she was only wearing a white see through camisole.

Talk about awkward. It seemed that she also noticed his eyes roaming and she jumped to grab a robe lying on her bed. "I'm not a princess Eren I'm quite the opposite and I can't get out of the tower anymore anyway so you have won." She said softly her eyes looking embarrassed and annoyed.

She moved away from him and walked to take Armin's hand squeezing it. Eren didn't like how his gut clenched with some unknown guilty feeling. "I'm sorry I can't explain Armin but I want you to know I loved the time I played with you." It was then that Eren realized he wasn't supposed to be there. He also knew he hadn't really been forgiven and he was getting upset at how much he wanted her to also say goodbye to him.

"If you tell me to leave right now as things are, I will come back." Armin said surprising them both. "You are my friend and I want to help you. You can't forbid me from doing that so you either tell me now or tomorrow or the day after because I'll keep coming until you tell me or until I get caught."

Mikasa took a moment to stare at Armin much like she had done with Eren. But she didn't seem to want to stab his eyes out. She looked affectionate and defeated, and Eren thought of how his mom looked when she let him disappear every day and comeback no questions asked; Mikasa had dropped the blonde's hand in the middle of his rant and flopped on a cushion by the window. If Eren hadn't been irritated he would have told her she actually looked like a princess with her dramatic expression staring out the window. "And you are being unfair to Eren. Believe it or not you're the first person he apologizes to and you didn't even acknowledge him." Armin said making her look at Eren. He felt exhibited since he had been staring far too long at Mikasa and Armin's stupid display of affection. Armin was really dangerous if let alone.

"Eren, it's okay, I wasn't mad at you I was scared and hurt because I thought you hated me." She said looking at him with the sad expression he used to think was false. He didn't anymore maybe living alone in a tower did that to a person, she actually had a right to feel sad, and he was just being an ass.

"I don't hate you." He said roughly and through his teeth but still clear enough so she would understand. She smiled softly and Eren felt his stomach churn like he had a bad stew but pushed it away. "Now, answers, why do you say you're the opposite of a princess and why are you living in this tower surrounded by guards?

Mikasa turned her head to her bed. She looked like she wanted to crawl back in and ignore the two boys pressuring her for answers. "Mom used to tell me long ago, this kingdom was protected by the Ackerman clan that was raided years ago and vanished. She told me dad was an Ackerman soldier that she met before this time of peace." Mikasa began pushing every word trying not to end up out of breath, almost as if talking hurt her. "…and my mother was the queen of Hizuru. We were conquered by the kingdom of Paradis when I was five and I was taken to be a prisioner. I wasn't killed because they can use me, one day I'll marry a prince and become an alliance for this place, or so they told me the last time." She finished slowly as if expecting Eren to call her a liar. He didn't.

Eren was emotionless, maybe he wanted to say something but he was speechless. And to Mikasa he looked like he was about to say something mean.

"I'm sorry Mikasa you may think Eren's teasing you." Armin interrupted "It's just that you're a myth all over the towns and not one that people like. Grandpa once told me one day he saw a military raid bring treasures from a late mission. They had all sorts of Asian gold and banners and one carried a strange human sized cage. Since then people believe they captured a princess who lived in the king's castle spending all their taxes."

"This means that your grandpa wasn't senile after all Armin." The blonde boy looked affronted but was distracted by melodious giggles coming from Mikasa, the sound so different from the mood of her story. "It's nice that you can laugh about it." Armin said looking relieved. Mikasa's cheeks colored and she tucked her chin down, a habit Eren had observed so often and now knew she did when embarrassed. "Well I'm not a princess in here, I'm a prisioner. So I've been kept in this tower hidden from everyone so I don't have a way of reuniting with my family. I haven't even seen the palace before."

"Then how did you find Armin?" Eren asked clearly not happy with all the facts thrown at his face. "I found a secret passage when I was cleaning..." She replied pausing as if to remind them how they arrived in the first place. "...and I followed it and started gathering everything you see here. When I was in Hizuru I liked to take care of a garden with mom." She paused, taking a moment to recall "So I tried having one here. The guard that brings me food said I could and he brought some flowers sometimes too. Then when I found that strange bulb flower by the lake Armin surprised me… and you know the rest." She said fiddling with her hands and trying not to look at Eren.

Eren had the recurring feeling that he couldn't be more of a jerk, and the more she spoke the more he needed her to slap him. Not knowing how to face her anymore he started looking at the small round room filled with nature and embroidered cushions. It seemed comfortable but a person wasn't meant to live in a jail no matter how comfortable it may seem. Mikasa probably felt that way and that's why she constantly met them. Eren looked at her again, smiling at Armin looking pale against the sun's white brightness. He was really sorry but he knew no words could really transmit how much he wanted to take it all back.

 _A.N./_ Thank you all those who reviewed, fav and followed. I know I said I would continue and it's almost new year and I'm trying to do all I haven't done in 2018 in a day XD. Fuck right. Anyway I haven't written next part since this is all I had saved in my computer so let me know if this could be continued I'm not sure anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Anecdoche**

 _A conversation in which everyone is talking, but nobody is listening._

* * *

 **H** annes was the guard that let her keep all sorts of outdoor junk from gypsies at town, including her well-tended flowers that swallowed up the entire room. He was also the man currently climbing through the tower's only official entry, the window, only to find a fragile looking boy holding Mikasa with another one standing nearby, that looked ready to pounce at anything. Hannes was not drunk enough for that kind of trouble.

When he met Mikasa, he instantly felt sorry for the lost girl, not that he could do anything to help her besides letting her do as she wanted with her prison. He knew of the secret entrance from the beginning but hadn't alerted his commander thinking that it could at least bring peace to his heart if she managed to escape. "You're going to get caught missy, but I'll trust you know what to do." He had warned her the first time he discovered a different pot in the room, not knowing if she even understood him. In the beginning of her exile, she was all nails and teeth against everyone, scratching and squirming like a rabid raccoon. No one had talked to her ever since, limiting their interactions to tossing food through the gap. That was until Hannes.

What he really wanted to know was her reason to coming back when she knew they would find out of her escapades and probably lock her in a dungeon. "You'll help me. You're kind." She had muttered and those where the first words anyone but Hannes had heard from her. Hannes knew he was probably wrong to not inform anyone of the little girl running free when he was patrolling. She was smart, observant and the reason why his head would roll on the stone.

"I knew I should have sealed those stairs." Hannes growled, entering feet first, taking a long stride to shove Armin's head away from Mikasa. The boy' skull almost fit in his hand like a ball and he was worried from his looks that he would actually break him. "They got lost looking for a job! Please Hannes they were just leaving." She sobbed using her tiny wrists to shove Hannes hand away, trying to take distance not realizing how obvious her lie was. She was protecting them.

"Heck not! You're coming with us even if we have to shove this beggar out the window!" This time it was the animalistic looking kid that was already clutching to his leg, pushing even though he did as much damage as a chained dog barking at a horse. Now Hannes knew he could easily kill the kids and blame it on a forest animal, if only he wasn't bound to the feeling of regret. There he was looking at the heartbroken tears in Mikasa's eyes, reminding him of how she looked when he had locked her inside a golden cage like a rare animal.

He sighed feeling his chest expand and contract senselessly. He actually didn't have a choice. Hannes grabbed one of the boys currently biting his armored lower legs and effortlessly picked both by the back of their shirts with the grace of a cat picking her kittens, only to drop them through the hidden wood plates, all the way down the dark tunnel not caring about the toe curling shrieks Mikasa made when they fell and disappeared. This was the only choice they had now.

* * *

Eren thought he was going to die for the third time this day. He was gratefully rewarded with actually not dying three times, even though he fell through wooden planks and stairs he had climbed with Armin that morning and that the height was considerably deathly. To his relief the pit of that tower felt cold and earthy against his cheek, blanketed with the same moss that cushioned the walls. The only problem would be his shoulder that felt like a mirror had shattered inside and that Armin's head was forcefully pierced between his neck and arm. That couldn't be good for his ribs. The only good news was that he knew Armin wasn't dead, not if Eren had been his safety pillow.

The next thing he heard after being thrown from Mikasa's room was the stretching and grinding of metal rope. Hannes' boots were in front of his eyes the second he regained focus in his blurry sight even though he couldn't lift any limb. Armin finally had moved his body from Eren's back and was currently holding his head upright, thankfully alive and well except for a few bruises. "You kids aren't going to make it easy now are ya´?" The tall blonde man slurred, not even trying to look intimidating.

Eren knew his type, bluffing, drunk soldier, good for nothing other than emptying taverns and ruffling maiden's skirts. He hated them as much as he hated nobles. Everyone knew they meant nothing when people really needed them; for example they hadn't done anything to assure his mother that Grisha would be found one day. "I bet Armin and I can kill you right now." Eren yelled only to be hushed by Armin.

"Eren! He's not the only guard around." Armin whispered even though it had actually echoed equally loud in the hollow pit they were in. He was right though, they had climbed at dusk and there were at least five foot soldiers half asleep parading around. The current issue spoke "Listen kids, I won't hurt you, but I can't help you if you don't do what I say now." The man looked frustrated by their entire charade. Not like he could be trusted anyway, he had no right to rush them to do anything.

"I'm sorry for not believing you sir, but you just threw us from a tower. We could have died." It was Armin this time, always the voice of reason. "Well I don't care for believing anything from a drunk traitor" Eren groaned not minding for his tone, even though he was trying to calm the pounding headache in favor of finding a stone to crush the soldiers head. If anything he was getting Armin out of there, even if it meant having to hit other five skulls on their way. He could still hear the sobs raining on them constantly. If they didn't alert the others, Mikasa's crying would.

Eren clenched his fists until his nails caked with blood, he didn't care if this assassin said what he wanted, he would save his friends whichever way he could. He was about to take a wooden stake and recreate his thoughts until the rope man pushed them out.

"You don't need to trust me now, 'cause you'll be on your own, I don't even care if you die." He paused, blinking from the sudden blindness of the outside world. The sun was already high in the sky and thankfully no other witnesses around. "You just need to get her out." He finished pushing Eren's shirt up until his feet were touching air. He made the right choice because a second later the soldier's hand was bleeding with a wooden stick piercing through it. His howling was muffled by Eren's tiny fists punching his way out of his grasp. Armin had done enough watching, his blue eyes watering at the sight of blood.

"Eren calm down! What are you doing?" Scrawny arms lifted Eren from his armpits locking his body for a moment, even that wasn't enough to keep him from kicking and wiggling with all his might. "We can't let him live if we want to take Mikasa away!" Eren yelled jumping free from his holder. "Yes you fucking can brat if you listen to me!" No longer grasping his face, the limp looking man took a swing with his good hand landing straight into Eren's nose. The fist, considerably larger than his face, was enough to make him fly into the stone wall next to the tower.

"Why should we listen to a murderer we don't know!" It was Armin this time, shivering in fear but still managing to get the words out with authority. Eren wasn't even impressed, he knew Armin was fierce but right now Eren was trying to regain control of his own body, he felt his nose scurrying with more than just mucus, and was trying not to pass out from the sudden nausea that hit him. "Because I have a debt with her mom, you don't need to know more! And I'm Hannes, so don't call me a murderer!"

Eren gave his best fear enforcing glare, at least he thought he did, before falling face first into fresh morning dew grass.

* * *

Armin wasn't proud about his physical skills, he could climb a slope but ended up panting hard and he could swim in ponds but he always finished gasping for air. He was proud of his hunches; particularly the hunch that this man that had just pummeled Eren's face wasn't going to kill them. He indeed threw them from a precipice of death, but probably he knew about the soft plant bed that prevented them from cracking like eggs. And he did say he knew Mikasa's mother. Had this been a town guard he probably would have stabbed them, without going through so much trouble. Then there was the fact that he wasn't killing them now but dragging them towards the stables even though his hand was still dripping liquid blood. Hannes had taken out the stake but the hole was still there. Armin was trying hard not to look at it although it was impossible since it was dragging them by the collar.

At least Eren was silent now that he passed out. "Fuck, I knew he was dangerous, felt like watching a reptile in there." Hannes groaned, finally throwing both boys onto a stack of hay. "You're not gonna stake me with a pitchfork now right?" He groaned falling ass first on the ground, tending his wound with a nearby cloth.

"I don't think I could." Armin thought to himself, it wasn't common for him to solve things with violence anyway. "Listen kid, I don't want to kill anyone, and I won't if I don't have to…" He paused to wince when he tightened the cloth in his hand. It was already soaking red. "But you don't have a choice now; if you try to go out the way you came you'll find at least ten guards. You heard the girl wailing back there, that place must be hell right now."

Armin wanted to argue that they had still sneaked pass by all those guards he had mentioned and made it through, but it wasn't the same. They had done it before the sun was raised so high it blinded, and no one was crying in the tower. If they went out now they would be spotted like a wild geese in hunting season.

"And why would you help us?" Armin asked, not really caring for his answer but for more clues as to where they could go unnoticed and take Mikasa. He wasn't going to leave her alone again.

"Kid, I don't have anything to win by deceiving you. And I'm not an idiot like your pissoffed friend here wants to believe. You know Mikasa, probably more than I do. I want her out of here, the end. Besides you don't have more options and we have no time, you have to trust me."

Armin tried to digest the huge chunk of information just thrown. What he couldn't figure out was the how. How was this Hannes man going to get not only them but also Mikasa out. She was definitely going to call attention. Not one girl in town had pure black, straight hair with slanted big grey blue eyes. Even if they left the castle unharmed today, when they found her missing they would raid the village. Armin could almost smell the burnt wood and blood that would come from whatever decision they made.

"And if we did agree to trust you, what do you want?" He questioned, finally looking up, locking eyes with the man that could prevent any tragedy. "You'll have to become stable boys." Hannes answered, almost like he had just thought that up and feeling proud of his quick thinking.

* * *

"They're the new boys huh?" Eren heard someone slur through the darkness. He didn't know if it was dark or if he simply couldn't open his eyes. "Yes sir, we want to be soldiers!" This was Armin's voice, he was sure, but he was speaking lies. Eren was truly mad or Hanne's punch had left him in a comma. No way were they going to serve the fucking king now. "Sorry kid we don't just accept anyone" Several voices now, mocking them, gurgling chuckles that almost made him snap out of this sick twisted dream. "Really? Because I don't see many people offering." Damn, well this could be real. Armin was defending his way through words like always. "Stop torturing them, they're just stable boys." Hannes this time, Eren recognized his easygoing tone, even if the man was no saint and surely wasn't friendly. That man was a potential murderer. "That one looks dead." Someone faraway said. "He just sleeps like a log." Armin said, thankfully not sounding like the liar he was.

"What happened to the hand?" Eren was tired of this questioning, not only was he still blind and his head hurt like it had split up, he had no clue what they were talking about. "Fought a baby boar in the forest, was a tiny thing with horns, left it for Carla so she would cook it and …" Eren's sight was coming back, together with his smell. He wished it hadn't because the first thing that hit him was horse shit and dry hay. "She's not going to give you anything back for it Hannes." Another man said hinting a second meaning that felt disgusting. What Eren wanted was to see this phony men, people still looked like black blobs. Armin's head was suddenly in front of his, more focused and looking panicked.

"Eren go back to sleep!" What? He wasn't sure what he was saying all he remembered was Mikasa crying and stupid Hannes man throwing them off a tower, the same man now laughing with a crowd of royal guards. He was about to use the little force he had left to kick him when everything went dark again.

* * *

It was dark again, only this time it was dark blue, moonlit, and black clouds where shaping in a starry sky through a square window. Eren rose quickly, too quick that had his head spinning again. "You shouldn't move like that Eren." He knew that sound, a new voice now, tender and soft. Mikasa was staring at him, doe eyed and worried. That wasn't what worried him though; he looked at the familiar bed, at the wooden plates shielding them and the sound of his mother's voice singing somewhere in the back.

"Why are you in my house?" He said, sounding ruder than he intended. "Gee Eren, I think you should be asking me first how we got here." Armin was sitting beside Mikasa, how come he hadn't even noticed him there. "I would but you're a traitor that hit me in the head."

"You were going to get us caught Eren! It's a miracle we're alive." Eren wanted to believe Armin had got them all out safely but he knew that wasn't true. They were in the middle of a pack of guards last he remembered and he was promising them stupid things. "We're not becoming soldiers Eren." Freaking mind reader, Eren was starting to fear Armin. Said boy had narrowed his blue gaze and started pacing.

"Look, long story short, we got Mikasa out and Hannes will cover for us, all we have to do is bring her back every day." Eren knew Hannes couldn't be trusted.

"Then you did nothing. She just came out and she'll be locked when she goes back."

"Would you let me finish, she'll go with us as your sister and we'll be working at the palace for a few days."

Eren wanted to hit something, if only Armin knew. Hannes had tricked them, he didn't know why they were still alive or why Mikasa was sitting by his bed but they wouldn't be safe anymore. "Why did you accept such a deal?"

"You can't be angry all you did was cause a scene, and if I hadn't done that we would be dead! There were more than ten guards there." Armin said, raising his voice and finally shutting Eren's whining.

"How come we have to work there? How come they won't ask anything about Mikasa?"

"Hannes was the only guard that has seen her for months, the only one she let up the tower. If he keeps quiet she won't be recognized."

Eren looked now at the girl that hadn't opened her mouth, she looked breathless with fear and concern. He had fed his eyes enough of her strange differences, hair, skin, eyes, lips. How would anyone not notice her. Eren glared back at Armin, wanting to transmit through this look how he felt, how he knew they weren't going to fool anyone. Armin's eyes were cold, staring back with empty rejection.

"I will not let her get recognized." Armin finally conveyed with words, making Eren's gut turn in envy for the braveness his friend had. He wished he could believe him.

* * *

 _A.N.: Thank you very much to all those who subscribed to this story and reviewed it. Really I continued since it received feedback. Shoutout to these five reviews that made my day:_ _RachelGarfield12, Kaniel Lau, An average guest, PamPotterEvans, Irene1603, Bravo One Zero._


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